


There's No Substitute for You

by Oddree13



Series: OMGCP Advent Calendar [17]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Confessions, Derek "Nursey" Nurse is Unchill, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Snowed In, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 20:17:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13131372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oddree13/pseuds/Oddree13
Summary: Delayed. Cancelled. Delayed. Cancelled. That was the pattern going down the board at Logan Airport, a few days before Christmas. A snow storm had blown, bring more snow than expected,  and it wasn’t letting up anytime soon.As he walked passed security, back into the main terminal, he spotted a familiar shock of red hair and strided over, hoping his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. “Poindexter?” he called out, and was relieved when Dex turned around startled by his name being called.





	There's No Substitute for You

**Author's Note:**

> For the seventeenth day of the OMGCP Winter Extravaganza! Prompt - Flight Cancelled

Delayed. Cancelled. Delayed. Cancelled. 

That was the pattern going down the board at Logan Airport, a few days before Christmas. A snow storm had blown in, bring more snow than expected, and it looked like it wasn’t letting up anytime soon. 

Sighing, and glancing at his phone for no other reason than habit, Nursey went to go sit back down, hoping somehow that the weather would change. 

It wasn’t like he really celebrated Christmas, but if he was going to be alone he might as well do it in New York City where he could be alone with the bustling city. But after ten minutes of brooding, he realized that nothing was going to change the weather now, and went off to find an agent to rebook him. 

As he walked past security, back into the main terminal, he spotted a familiar shock of red hair and strided over, hoping his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. 

“Poindexter?” he called out, and was relieved when Dex turned around startled by his name being called. 

“Nursey? What are you doing here? I thought you left yesterday?”

“I did technically. I went into Boston a day early for this lecture I wanted to check out, but now I’m snowed in. You?”

“Flight was today and well, you can guess what happened,” he sighed, looking around as if by looking out the windows the snow would stop.  


“Any chance we can get back to the Haus you think?” Nursey asked, in case Dex had already looked into that. 

“We’d have to take the T then a bus back, but the Samwell buses aren’t running anymore,” Dex said, running a hand through his hair in frustration. “They stopped at noon today, and I doubt any ubers and taxis would be willing to drive that far out in this weather.”

“Right....” Nursey trailed off, running a hand through his hair in thought. “Look, I don’t want to recreate every bad holiday movie that glorifies sleeping in a terminal, and I know how you get when you don’t sleep well, so how about this - I’ll get us a room at the hotel attached to the airport, and before you say anything, I have travel insurance so it’ll be covered. The only thing that’ll cost us is the room service we will most certainly order along with the movies,” he grinned, doing his best to convince his friend that it wouldn’t be a huge expense. 

“Nursey, that’s really nice but I can stay here, it’s fine. Really. Besides if the weather clears up I could get the first flight out,” he tried, but Nursey leveled him with a look and before he knew it, the two of them were on the shuttle to the hotel. 

It was obvious that Nursey wasn’t the only person with this idea, because the line to get a room was long, and by the time it was Derek’s turn they only had king beds left. As he looked to the side to see if Dex would be alright with it, the redhead just gave him a look that said ‘we do this every roadie.’ Without another moment’s hesitation Derek booked the room, and soon the two men were ensconced in a king room with a stocked mini fridge. 

In no time Derek ordered room service, to which Dex rolled his eyes at, but soon had no ground to tease Nursey on as he discovered the bathrobes and, embracing their situation, wrapped himself in terry cloth and lounged on the bed. 

“You know two years ago I would have murdered you for even suggesting this and then stayed in the airport out of spite,” Dex laughed, as Nursey stripped out of his clothes and into just pajama bottoms and a matching bathrobe. “I know now that this is just how you help out and show you care. I get it’s not a show off thing.”

“I’m sorry you thought that,” Nursey said laying down on the couch and picking up the remote. He looked over at his friend, with a small smile. “I get why, but I’m glad you didn’t murder me for suggesting it now. I don’t think I would have been able to get this room knowing that you’d still be at Logan curled up on an uncomfortable chair.”

“Yeah that would have sucked,” Dex agreed, and settled down as Nursey scrolled through the movie options. 

***  
A tray of food and two wine bottles later, Nursey and Dex lay on the bed, watching Star Wars: the Force Awakens. 

“Honestly at this rate I don’t think there isn’t a human in this movie I wouldn’t sleep with,” Nursey giggled. 

“Is that so?” Dex teased, watching Poe and Finn reunite on screen. 

“Yeah, I mean you’ve got the obvious main trio - Rey, Finn, and Poe - that are all too pretty for words. I’d sleep with Harrison Ford no matter what his age is,” Derek began. 

“But you’d even sleep with the First Order guys?” Dex asked, curious. 

“Well, Kylo Ren honestly might just need an orgasm to calm the fuck down, and Hux, well,” he started, but stopped suddenly. 

“What about Hux?” Dex asked, peering over at Nursey. 

“Well I actually wouldn’t sleep with him. I don’t substitute,” he shrugged, hoping the vague response was enough. 

“What do you mean substitute?” Dex asked, turning his full attention to his roommate.

“You know, go after someone because they look like someone you’re into,” he muttered. 

“I wasn’t aware you had a thing for military dudes, Nurse,” he teased. 

“Yeah it’s not the military thing and before you asked, it isn’t an allegorical Nazi fetish either,” he snorted. 

“Then what is it?” he asked, but before he got an answer, his attention was drawn back to the fight between Rey and Kylo, forgetting to pester Nursey about his unwillingness to fictionally go to bed with Domhnall Gleeson. 

It was only when they were both tucked into bed later, not quite drunk, but still tipsy, that Dex asked, “Is it because he’s ginger?”

“What?” Nursey asked, a little confused at the question. 

“Hux. You don’t want to fuck him because he’s ginger,” Dex replied, staring at the back of Nursey’s head in the twilight of the room. When Derek didn’t answer he continued. 

“Whatever guy you like right now must be ginger if you won’t substitute,” Dex began, turning over onto his back to think. “Well he can’t be at Samwell because there honestly aren’t that many redheads at school, and half are girls, and the guys that are there don’t see like your type.”

“Dex, just drop it,” Nursey warned, his chest tightening in worry. 

“So that means that the guy must be on another hockey team or back in New York,” he continued, ignoring the warning. 

“Dex, it doesn’t matter. It’s not going to happen so there’s no need to talk about it.”

“But why not? You’re good looking, smart, funny, and the clumsiness thing has a charming side effect if you play it right.”

“He’s straight,” Nursey gritted out, ignoring all the compliments that Dex had just showered on him. 

“Oh,” Dex said, his mouth closing in regret. “I’m sorry, Nursey, I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s fine. He’s just not into dudes and that’s fine. I just have a rule that I don’t go to bed with people to fuel unattainable crushes, fictional people included.”

“That makes sense,” he agreed, but instead of turning back over and trying to sleep, Dex rolled over and hugged his friend. 

“His loss then, Derek,” he whispered, his breath ghosting on the back of Nursey’s neck. 

“Yeah,” Nursey squeaked out, his throat tight, “his loss.”

***

The next morning the snow was still going, coating the city in several more inches. After each of the defensemen were on hold for over an hour with their respective airlines, they decided to order some breakfast and work on some homework to kill the day. 

By the time evening came, the pair decided another movie was in order so Nursey scrolled through, reading the titles to Dex. 

“Zootopia?” 

“Not in the mood.” 

“Deadpool?”

“Saw it.”

“Moo- nah nevermind you wouldn’t be into that”

“No wait, what movie?”

“Moonlight,” Nursey finished, looking over at Dex. 

“For your information, I already saw it,” he replied, looking smug. 

“For real?” Nursey asked in disbelief. 

“Yeah, for real. It was during a long weekend and well I was curious.”

“Curious about what?”

“About what life would look like if you just never admitted to yourself what you really are,” he shrugged, not meeting Nursey’s eyes. 

“And what did you think?”

“I thought it was good. My goal this year is to admit to myself some things,” he swallowed, clearly uncomfortable. 

“Well that’s healthy, Poindexter,” he offered, and went back to scrolling through the movies, settling on Captain America: Civil War.

As the Marvel film played before them, Nursey wondered what Dex had to admit to himself. Earlier he’d explained how he would have reacted differently about the hotel had it been two years earlier, so maybe he was generally trying to become more self aware. But there was also the other possibility lurking in the back of Derek’s mind. 

“You know if you wanted to admit something you can always talk to me...you listen to my bullshit all the time,” he offered, his eyes still focused on the screen. 

Dex just nodded and didn’t say anything. 

When the movie ended, they decided to skip a second movie in favor of lounging, so Nursey got out a book to read while Dex went back to working on his homework. The sound of typing filled the room and became background noise to Derek. So when Dex spoke up he was a little thrown. 

“...I just wanted to tell you I'm gay. That's what I meant earlier...and I've only got a handful of days left this year so might as well finish up this resolution.”

It took Derek a few seconds to process the information but once his brain filtered what Dex said and stopped short circuiting, Derek defaulted to the tried and true Samwell line of, “Thank you for trusting me with this moment,” to which Dex laughed. 

“Really, that’s what you’re going with?”

“What do you want me to say?” Nursey countered, his book now closed on his lap. 

“I don’t know, freak out more? I’m really not sure I’ve never told anyone before.”

“I mean, I’ll tell you that I didn’t see it coming that’s for sure. I thought you were going to go off and get married to a girl and make a family fit for an LL Bean catalog.”

At that Dex had to laugh. “Yeah I don’t think the family I want right now is the kind they put in a magazine,” he snorted. 

“And what kind of family is that?”

“A fictional one, Nurse. What I’m picturing right now isn’t going to happen. The guy is way out of my league, and well the kids I’m picturing aren’t exactly biologically possible.”

“I doubt this guy is out of your league,” Nursey began scooting over to be able to look at Dex properly. “You’re an NCAA athlete with the body to match. You’re smart, hard working, and loyal to a fault. If this guy doesn’t see that then he’s a moron.”

“I mean he is a moron but not for those reasons,” Dex smiled, a blush rising on his cheeks. “But he’s into someone else, I know that.”

Derek looked intently at Dex and took a chance. Moving his hand, he covered Dex’s hand, and was pleased when he heard the hitch in his breathing. “You were right. I didn’t want to even go to bed with a fictional ginger because I would look at them and want it to be you. And I know you just came out, and that I might not be the guy you were just talking about, but if I am, I need you to know that you aren’t out of my league. Fuck, Will, you’re the only one in it because I can’t get you out of my head. And I’m not expecting anything because you literally just came out and we’re about to go home, but I needed you to kn-”

Dex leaned in to kiss Nursey, cutting off his rant, cupping his check with one hand, the other resting on the back of his neck. “Shut up Derek,” he whispered as he pulled back a bit from the kiss. Nursey for his part just nodded, and went back in for another kiss. 

***  
The rest of the evening was spent trading lazy kisses and talking, and come morning when the weather evened out, Derek may or may not have changed his ticket to spend the holidays with his best friend turned boyfriend, instead of spending it alone in Manhattan.


End file.
